Pensieve Ponderings
by Hermione Granger - Top mind at Hogwarts
Summary: Harry and the others find a box full of memories and learn some interesting things about Hogwarts, the founders, and each other.AN I do not own these characters, this fanfic is based on JK Rowling's fantastic Harry Potter stories! :
1. Chapter 1

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were in Harry's office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Everything was ready for the new year, and now the four of them were talking about old times. 

It seemed like so long ago that they themselves had been students here. Ten years had passed since that had happened, and most of the old teachers had retired since then. Harry was now the new Headmaster, Hermione was teaching History of Magic, Ginny was the new school nurse, and Ron was the new Quidditch professor.

Five years ago they had had a double wedding, and since their appointments were now living at Hogwarts year round. Most of the other teachers had homes that they went home to during the summer holidays, but the four friends liked nothing better than to stay at Hogwarts and enjoy the solitude that they had. They could play Quidditch and they had Hogsmead to visit when they wished. What more could anyone ask for?

Harry leaned back in his chair, a nostalgic smile upon his face. Raising his glass of elf made wine, he looked around at his friends, "Here's to you three, the best friends a man could ask for."

He thought about how the four of them had been through a lot since they had first met. In her 6th year at Hogwarts, Ginny'd had the horrible experience of having her brother Percy join Voldemort and kill her father. But after the Death Eaters came after her, Percy recanted his loyalty and was killed at the hands of Voldemort himself. She confided to him that she still had nightmares regarding the Chamber of Secrets, knowing how close she came to killing her friends, brothers, professors and him, the man who was now her husband. She had fought valiantly with Harry and the others during the final battle with Voldemort and they had defeated him, thank goodness.

Ron's memory of his brother's betrayal still haunted him, although he refused to show it. The pain of losing both his father and his brother cut through him like a knife sometimes. He had gone to find the horcruces with Harry in their seventh year, along with Hermione who was now his wife. They were halfway finished when they received an urgent owl to come back right away. The three of them returned to hear the dreadful news of his father's passing and the even more dreadful news that Percy had been the one to cast the fateful Avada Kedavra curse. They had stayed for Arthur's funeral, and Harry had told him that he didn't need to finish the journey with him, but Ron had been more determined than ever to help defeat the wizard who had turned his brother against his family.

Hermione had also lost her parents before her schooling ended at Hogwarts. Due to her helping Harry destroy Voldemort, a few of the remaining Death Eaters had targetted and killed them. Some of the remaining Aurors sought them out and sent them to Azkaban, and a special task force was appointed to become guards there since the Dementors which remained after the battle was over were no longer trustworthy.

Harry himself, the Chosen One, the Boy who Lived, had thankfully retained his sanity after all he had been through. Despite his aunt and uncle's cruelty while he was growing up, he saved them from an attack during the war and they were even cordial to him now. He wouldn't call them his friends, but they were on better terms than they were. After Voldemort had been destroyed, his scar which had one graced his brow disappeared.

Coming back to the present, he looked around at his friends and colleagues, glad that the past was over now and they could enjoy the friendship now without the worries of the evil in the world. Of course, there were still some rather unsavory characters in the wizarding world, and you never knew when another Dark Lord just might pop up, but for now he felt that it was safe.

Hermione looked down at the child nestled in her arms. Little Harmony Weasley, born in June. She had Ron's red hair and her big brown eyes. She already knew that one day she would be going to Hogwarts, she already was showing some magical promise. Standing up, she went over and put her in her basinette so that she could sleep.

"She's such a beautiful baby, Ron and Hermione," Harry said, smiling at then, "I can't wait til she's old enough to start learning magic.

"Me either," Hermione said, sitting back down, "We already know she is definitely going to be a witch."

"She takes after her mum that way, she's very smart," Ron said, proudly.

They were talking for a few minutes when Harry noticed something glowing in the back of the office, something he didn't remember seeing before. Standing up, he went towards the glowing area and came back holding a box full of phials.

"This is odd," He said, placing the box on his desk, "These remind me of the phial that Dumbledore used to keep his memories in to look at later in the pensieve," Opening the box further, he found a note inside.

Dear Harry,

These are memories that I have collected over the years for you and your friends and they have been waiting for just the right time to become active enough that you can see them. Please send me an owl when this happens, and Minerva and I will join you.

Sincerely,  
Albus Dumbledore

"Wow!" Harry exclaimed, his eyes wide in wonder, "They ARE memories, and Dumbledore left them for us to find," Taking a parchment out, Harry wrote a quick note to Albus.

Dear Albus,

I am contacting you as you requested regarding the memories. We will not look at any until you and Minerva get here. We are all in my office, if you want to use the Floo Network.

Sincerely,

Harry James Potter

Harry eagerly sent the note off with Hedwig, then turned to his friends, "We'll have to wait for Albus and Minerva to get here, I have a feeling we'll be seeing a great deal today."

"That's interesting that he did this for us, Harry. I wonder what kind of memories they are," Ginny said curiously.

"It would be great if there was something about the founders, wouldn't it?" Hermione said excitedly.

"Or maybe about Quidditch!" Ron chimed in and the other three laughed; Ron was such a Quidditch buff.

"I hope there's something in there about my mum and dad," Harry said, quietly.

Ginny reached over and took his hand, "I'm sure there will be, Harry. After all they were very famous and well liked, from what Sirius and Remus have told us."

Just then, green flames filled the fireplace and Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black stepped out. There was a flurry of activity as the group greeted one another and hugs were exchanged.

"I hope you four don't mind us bringing Remus and Sirius with us," Albus said, grinning mischeviously, "They didn't want to miss this, and thought maybe you would have questions for them after we look at some of the memories.

"Not at all, Albus," Harry said, beaming at him, "You know that I always enjoy a visit from some old friends.

"Well, Harry, I feel like I owe you an explanation," Albus said, as Harry drew up chairs for them, "Now that you are Headmaster and have some good years under your belt, I felt that it was time to share with you some memories and some truth that may have been difficult for you to learn in the past. Now, don't get me wrong. A lot of the memories are good ones and ones I hope you will find very useful. There are some from the founders, from your parents..."

"My parents? Mum and Dad left memories?" Harry said, a note of excitement in his voice.

"Yes, your Mum and Dad left memories for you. So, we'll take a trip back through time and you all will find out some things, some good, some bad, and have some questions answered."

Harry brought the pensieve out and they gathered around it. Dumbledore selected a phial from the box and poured it into the pensieve, and they found themselves falling into the bowl...into the memory.


	2. Chapter 2

Pensieve Ponderings Chapter 2 Birth of a Dream and Birth of a Secret

The room they found themselves in appeared to be part of someone's home. There were four people there, two men and two women, and they appeared to be involved in a deep and disturbing conversation, as the men had grim looks upon their faces and the women were dabbing at their eyes with handkerchiefs.

"This is indeed a sad day for young witches and wizards in our country, and all over the world,"A man with long brown hair and strong chin said grimly"Tristan was a well respected wizard, and very well liked. He will be missed dearly."

"Godric, what is to become of the students? Surely something must be done. It's not right that they should not continue their education. Truly, their parents can teach them, but what of those who were born to Muggle families? Should their talents go unused?"The woman sitting to the right of him asked, a concerned look upon her face.

"Oh, who cares about the muggle borns?"The other man in the room scowled, "What we need is a place where we can teach the purebloods and make sure that our world remains pure."

"I, too, am concerned about the students, Rowena. And Salazar, come now. You know that all young witches and wizards, no matter what their background, should be given the chance to learn magic. They are more dangerous if they aren't trained how to control it and to do it properly. We can impress upon Muggle parents how important it is for them to keep their child's secret, but without training on how to control their magic, we risk exposure. You know how bad it is already for some of our kind who have been caught and tortured for doing magic. Some have even been put to death," Godric hung his head in sadness.

The other woman in the room, who had been silent until now, nodded in agreement, "I totally agree. Every child who shows magical promise needs to have the opportunity to use it."

Salazar scowled once again, but said nothing. It seemed as if he was outnumbered.

The group who had entered the memories realized what they were witnessing and looked at each other in wonder. They were watching and listening to the four founders of Hogwarts planning Hogwarts. Dumbledore, of course, had a smile on his face since he already had been through this memory but it was fun watching the expressions on the faces of his colleagues and his former students.

"I propose that we expand the school. Maybe take it to another location," Godric said, standing up, "My family has a large castle in Scotland which no one has used for years. We could fix it up and enchant it so that any Muggle that sees it will think that it's a ruin. It's right on a lake, very scenic area if I remember correctly. The small school which Tristan had was fine in its time, but there are more magical children being born each and every day. We could have dormitories, and maybe divide the children into four houses, one for each of us. What do you think?"

Salazar's eyes brightened up at the thought of that; surely most of the students in his house would be pure bloods and he could teach them the ways that he believed were correct. In his mind he was already forming a plan...but that would have to wait. He had to bide his time.

"I think that's a splendid idea. But how would we sort them? How would we know what student goes where?"Helga asked, liking the idea but being practical.

"Oh, I have an idea. Just leave that to me. I also have the perfect name for the school. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. What do you think?"Godric said, turning to face them with a smile upon his face.

"After Tristan! That's a great idea," Rowena said, smiling, "He will be immortalized and his legacy will live on."

They were so excited that they didn't see the look of pure hatred on Salazar Slytherin's face...

The group found themselves back in Hogwarts in Harry's office and began talking at once, startling Harmony who woke up in her bassinette and started crying. Picking her up, Hermione cuddled and rocked her until she calmed down. 

Holding up his hand, Dumbledore signalled for silence. When the room was quiet, he spoke in a calm clear voice, "I realize that was very exciting for you all to see how the idea of Hogwarts came about but we don't want to scare this sweet baby now do we?" He said, chuckling and tickling her underneath her chin, "Now, what did you think? What were your impressions of the founders of Hogwarts?"

Harry spoke first, "Well, Godric reminds me of you, Albus," He said with a smile, "But Salazar, he seemed as though he had the prejudices against muggle born witches and wizards since long before Hogwarts was even founded."

Albus nodded, "That he did, Harry. I was fortunate enough to come across diaries of the four founders at one time here at Hogwarts, and I will share them with you throughout the viewing of the memories," Taking the phial from which the memory had been poured, Albus put it back into it and corked it, then selected another one, "This is a continuation of that last one, but from a personal perspective."

Albus poured the memory into the pensieve and Hermione hesitated, "You go ahead, I have to feed Harmony. Be sure to let me know what happens," She said, smiling at them.

"Do you want me to stay with you, luv?" Ron said, giving her a hug.

"No, go ahead. We'll be fine," She said, smiling at him.

"Okay, we won't be too long," Ron bent down and gave his wife and his daughter a kiss. The group looked into the bowl and entered the memory.

Salazar Slytherin was alone in his dungeon office, pacing and thinking out loud.

"Hogwarts has been open only two months and already we're overrun with those mudblood students," He said, puffing away on his pipe, "Who does Godric think he is, accepting anyone who can do magic? Mudbloods don't belong in our world. Doesn't he have any clue as to how dangerous it is to teach them the ways of magic? We could be found out!"

Suddenly he stopped pacing and thought of a plan, an evil plan, that would cleanse the school of its less savory students. Placing spells upon his office to make it soundproof, he clasped his hands behind his back and started pacing again, this time using an enchanted quill to take notes. 

"Draconia, I will use her. She will obey my commands without question. Now, what else?" He said, appearing to be deep in thought, "It must be hidden, no one must know. A chamber devoted to me and my work, to ridding the wizarding world of mudbloods. There's that area down in the west wing of the dungeons that we don't use. Yes, I could put it there..." Picking up a large case with holes in it and locking his office door so that no one would enter but him, he hurried out of his office and towards the west wing. Inside of the case the group caught a glimpse of a large snake inside...

Ginny paled as they returned to Harry's office, "The Chamber of Secrets...that's what he was talking about isn't it?" She looked at Albus for confirmation.

"Yes, Ginny...that was the birth of the idea of the Chamber of Secrets you witnessed," Albus said, looking at her.

Harry put his arm around her to comfort her, "It's okay, Ginny," He said, knowing that the Chamber still haunted her.

Hermione looked up from burping Harmony, having finished nursing her, "Did he have the basilisk too?"

"Yes it was there, but it was still quite young," Sirius said, looking at Hermione, "It fit into a large case. We could see it through the holes. I don't think the other founders knew that Salazar was a Parseltongue, that's what it sounds like."

"That's what it sounded like to me too, Sirius," Harry said, nodding, "that he was trying to hide it from them."

"I think Godric knew, since he and Salazar were close, but they may not have divulged it to the other two founders. Like now, usually being parselmouth is the sign of a dark witch or wizard. With some exceptions, of course," He said, giving Harry a wink.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use something to eat before we take a look at any more memories," Harry said, laughing, "Harmony there has the right idea. Shall I have the house elves fix us up something?"

The group agreed that it was a good idea to take a break and spent the next hour or so sitting, talking and eating, catching up on old times and just enjoying the conversation and the food. 


End file.
